Conversation in Heaven

Words pour out of her mouth, and I disassemble each one. I notice how her eyes linger, how she seems to look right through me. An outsider might hear a casual, friendly conversation, but the lie not spoken is palpable. My momma used to always tell me, “No one can make you feel anything; you allow what you feel.” It’s true. I let in the good and the bad, the truth and the lies. I decide what I keep.

I feel inferior and invisible in her company. I’m holding the kind of hurt that, left unchecked, turns to stone cold bitterness. These feelings I’ve invited in are good indicators that I’m taking myself too seriously. Pride is a dead giveaway. So I do the only thing I know works: I go to God. I empty my hands and lay it there before the throne.  I need help determining what’s truth and what’s not. It takes brave faith to trust that what He thinks of me trumps all other thoughts, opinions, and judgments. I hone in on the whisper that comes like a cool breeze, gentle yet unexpected: I died for her, too.

We are desperate for solutions that help us measure up. We rank people like we’ve been given authority or something.  We speak judgment behind backs and in front of faces with or without the facts. We crave tidy circles, and we hold back just because it’s awkward to let anyone any closer.  We spend most of our time just trying to find our place, searching for where we fit, begging to be invited into where we think we belong.

We can’t fix an eternal problem with an earthly solution, but oh, how we try.

For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 3:18-20

We belong with a perfect God in paradise, but our vision is so easily clouded by earthliness. The things of this world are visible and accessible, but the invisible eternal is right here at our fingertips. The kingdom of God is in our midst. Paul’s words, translated in the King James Version read, “For our conversation is in heaven.” As Jesus renews our minds, He initiates a new way of thinking and invites us into a new conversation. He gives an eternal perspective when He gives His Spirit, so anything tethered to this place is irrelevant.

It doesn't matter who your family is, where you grew up, or where you now live. It doesn’t matter which school you attended, how well you did, or which clique invited you in. It doesn't matter how many titles you've earned or how many trophies you've won. It doesn’t matter who you married, how much your wedding cost, or where you honeymooned. It doesn’t matter which church you attend, which career you chose, or what you make. It doesn’t matter how big your family is or whether your kids are well behaved or rowdy. It doesn’t matter which type of car you drive or where your kids go to school. It doesn’t matter how many Facebook likes or how many Facebook friends you've acquired. It doesn't matter which brand of jeans you wear or what size they are. It doesn't matter how you look or how you cook. It doesn't matter if you fly first class or coach.  It doesn't matter how high the pile of laundry gets or how often you sweep your floor. It doesn't matter how you've messed up, how you've failed, or how far you still have to go.

Your invitation into this eternal conversation is all that matters.

God’s solution for our mess was His Son hanging on a cross in our place. It was the only way to satisfy the wrath of God towards sin and the love of God towards sinners. The cross has no favorites. All have fallen short of God's glory. The cross confirms that everyone needs Jesus.  Every one. The cross is where our conversation begins. Paul isn’t finished with his letter until he gets personal. In the chapter that follows, his words bring my earthly distractions to a lifeless halt:

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Philippians 4:1-2 (emphasis added)

Euodia and Syntyche needed to be reminded that they had overlooked what they shared. It’s no different for me here and now. The conversation that left me feeling inferior, willing to embrace bitterness, and ready to pass judgment is evidence of a similar struggle. When we value earthly things, we stand in opposition to the cross. We can’t keep trying to fit in somewhere we were never created to be.

God has given those who are His one mind- the mind of Christ. If we agree on the cross, nothing else matters. The new creation is all that counts. We are allies of the cross of Jesus Christ. We are the family of God. We are sisters. Amber Haines, in her profound memoir, Wild in the Hollow, explains this so beautifully. She says Jesus calls us to be “people of the unshakable kingdom” who view others “in the way God sees them, as worthy, like the kingdom version of a person is the only version there is.”

Side by side comparison has no place in heaven’s conversation.

May our common need for Jesus break down any earthly barriers we’ve erected. May we be a people who quit trying to prove ourselves and let the gospel prove itself through our everyday lives instead. May we seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness above all else, and may our conversation be evidence that our hearts and minds are immersed in the eternal. May we be found as faithful servants who never took our eyes off Jesus.

Jesus loves you,

Kelly